This invention generally relates to a transfer mechanism for live roller, line shaft conveyor systems. More specifically, this invention relates to an opposite direction transfer device which is driven by the same drive means used to power the main conveyor rollers of a live roller, line shaft conveyor system and which transfer articles from one conveyor line and onto another such as from a work station or an adjacent conveyor line onto the pass line of the main conveyor system, or vice versa.
Transfer mechanisms for transferring articles from one conveyor pass line to another are generally known in the art. Conventional transfer devices utilize at least one conveying member which is generally supported for rotation transverse to the main pass line of the typical conveyor system. These conveying members may be positioned between the main conveyor rollers to transfer conveyed articles between the main pass line and a second pass line which is positioned normal to the pass line of the main conveyor. In general, many of these prior art devices have required a drive system, including a motor, which is separate from the drive system of the main conveyor rollers and which must be dedicated solely to the operation of the conveying member of the transfer device.
Certain other transfer mechanisms are powered by the same drive shaft and drive motor which are also used to drive the rollers of the main conveyor line. These devices, however, are typically constructed to operate in a "standard" mode wherein all of the conveying members of the mechanism are positioned along a conveyor line for rotation in a single direction transverse to the pass line of the conveyor system. The use of such standard mode transfer mechanisms is limited in that all of the conveying members of the transfer mechanism must rotate in a single, uniform direction. Hence, conveyed articles may be transferred onto a main conveyor from adjacent conveyor lines or work stations when the drive motor is set to rotate the drive shaft and a slave shaft in one rotational direction. These standard mode devices have lacked the versatility required when it is desired to have a live roller, line shaft conveyor system which includes transfer mechanisms thereon, some of which transfer articles onto the main conveyor line, while other transfer mechanisms will simultaneously transfer articles from the main conveyor and onto an adjacent conveyor line or work station.
The present invention overcomes the above-noted problems and disadvantages of the prior art by providing an opposite direction transfer device in which an endless conveying member is driven by the same drive shaft and drive motor which are used to drive the rollers of the main conveyor system. The conveying member is mounted on guide means which are positioned on a vertically displaceable lift table for positioning the conveying member in a raised and operative position or in a lowered and inoperative position. The conveying member is supplied in the form of an endless drive belt or O-belt which is reeved around the guide means of the transfer device and around the drive shaft and the slave shaft of the main conveyor so that the conveying member is driven in a direction transverse to the main pass line and in the opposite direction of a standard mode transfer mechanism to transfer articles either to or from a side location, such as from a second or adjacent conveyor line, for example, and onto the conveyor rollers of the main or first conveyor line. A live roller, line shaft conveyor system which is equipped with both standard mode and opposite direction transfer devices will simultaneously allow conveyed articles to be transferred both onto the main conveyor as well as from the main conveyor to adjacent conveyor lines or work stations.
Means are provided for positioning the lift table of the opposite direction transfer device in either a lowered/inoperative position or in a raised/operative position. In the operative position, the guide means are displaced so that the conveying member is raised slightly above the surface of the pass line of the main conveyor with the conveying member being disposed between and parallel to a pair of main conveyor rollers. In the lowered position, the conveying members are positioned beneath the conveying surface or pass line of the main conveyor. In this arrangement of parts, articles from work stations and conveyor lines adjacent to the main conveyor system may be selectively loaded on to the main pass line by positioning the transfer device in the raised/operative position to pick up the articles from the second or adjacent line and deposit them onto the first or main conveyor line. Conversely, the rotation of the drive shaft may be reversed by reversing the phase of the drive motor to thereby load conveyed articles from the main conveyor line onto an adjacent line or work station.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an opposite direction transfer device for loading articles onto a first or main conveyor line from a second or adjacent conveyor line, and vice versa.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an opposite direction transfer device with a conveying member which is driven by the same drive means used to drive the conveyor rollers of the first or main conveyor line.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a transfer device having a conveying member which is reeved around guide means mounted on a lift table such that the conveying member is driven in a direction transverse to the pass line of the first or main conveyor line to thereby assist in transferring articles when the transfer device is in a raised/operative position.